


Misplaced

by Magical_Alpha



Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Dialogue Light, Diary/Journal, Fluff and Humor, Fluff without Plot, Gen, Male Friendship, Mild Language, Prequel, Some Plot, Technically an Isekai?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27779161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magical_Alpha/pseuds/Magical_Alpha
Summary: If anyone has found this journal, please send help. I don't know how I got here, or how I turned into a wolf guy. I'm adjusting to my life here in Possum Springs, but it's still so strange...--Hello, and welcome to my first publicized fanfic! :D I had this idea pop into my mind randomly one day and I just couldn't resist fleshing it out, so here we are. This idea was what made me make an AO3 account.This fic takes place before the events of Night in the Woods. Specifically, after Mae leaves for college, and before Casey disappears.The story takes you into the eyes of 20 year-old Nicholas Stevens, who had woken up in an unfamiliar world of anthropomorphic animal people, and tries to settle into this unusual new life while making friends along the way.
Relationships: Angus Delaney/Greggory Lee
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. 6/24/2015

### June 24, 2015

I'm unsure if this is a dream or something, but... This is seriously freaky.

I had gone to sleep last night like normal, in my own little apartment with my two roommates. And then when I wake up, I'm in this damp ravine under a bridge with a little opossum skittering around me. As I got up to gather my bearings in the very early morning environment around me, I noticed something very off. Right under my eyes appeared to be a snout, and I looked down to see that I was furry all over! Grey fur, kind of coarse, and it was all over my body, even under the denim pants and orange designer t-shirt I was wearing. I felt above my head, sensing longer, pointier ears. My god, I've turned into a frickin' dog man!! Even as I write this out hours later, it still freaks me out a bit.

But anyways, as I was starting to freak out, I heard someone with a kinda high-pitched and high energy voice call out. Think he said something like, "There ya are, Rabies!" and for a split second I thought he was referring to me until I looked over and saw the opossum running over to this... bird dude in a grey shirt and a black hat. Like he was a bird, beak and all, but with the body of a human? He introduced himself as Jeremy Warton, although some call him Germ Warfare, and I introduced myself as Nicholas Stevens. He asked me what I was doing down here by myself and I struggled to give a cohesive answer. Oh yeah man last night I was a human and now I'm an anthro wolf or something. I ended up just saying that I just randomly found myself here, and perhaps I have amnesia as to not mention my sudden change. I did tell him the truth in one regard, though, in that I had no idea where I was. He showed some concern, explaining that I was near the edge of Possum Springs, and he offered to show me around. In my utter confusion, I supposed I just couldn't say no to that offer.

Possum Springs is certainly a very quaint town. A nice break from the suburbs of LA. Though, it's kind of weird that it's spelled Possum Springs and not Opossum Springs. Ah well, maybe some spellings are different in this weird reality I've found myself in. As Germ and I walked around town proper, I could see even more people who seemed like hybrids of human and animal: Cats, raccoons, foxes, you name it. Have I seriously woken up in a furry fantasy?? Even now, I'm hanging out with a family of cat folk. Back to the tour, though, we spent quite a while going around town. Germ told me all about things that have happened to him and around this very town. As the sun rose higher, more people came out and began their day, and eventually in the Towne Centre, we happened to run into a certain pair of Germ's friends. An orange cat with green eyes and an orangish-yellow fox with black eyes. Germ let us introduce each other. The cat guy was Casey Hartley, and the fox was Greggory Lee. They seemed like rather nice dudes.

It was just then, as we all sat near this old memorial statue off to the side of the avenue, that I realized something... I didn't have a place to stay. I brought up my whole "amnesia" situation, and Casey damn near immediately brought up the idea of staying over at his place. Part of me wanted to give a 'Thanks but no thanks' response... But most of me didn't want to end up sleeping on the street tonight. It was decided, I'd crash out at this Casey dude's place tonight.

Afterwards, Germ headed back to his own place. Gregg suggested that we could have breakfast at the Clik-Clak diner. An egg bacon and cheese biscuit, or some pancakes was what I really needed at that moment. I was hungry as, well, a wolf. The three of us got to the diner, and discussed various stuff after we placed our orders. Apparently there were plans to put a Snack Falcon convenience store right next to this very diner. Neat. Meanwhile, I couldn't exactly say anything about what was going on in my life because... well, feigning amnesia. Honestly, though, I was quite invested in what these two were talking about. I tried to be as involved in their conversation as I could, trying not to seem like a complete introvert.

After we were done with this breakfast meal, Gregg dismissed himself, saying that he was gonna set up for a date with an Angus fella. This just left me and Casey, who both didn't have much to do besides just chill out for the day. Casey decided to show down to an underground trolley station, which had a mural of workers inside. The trolley was apparently used to transport miners to and from the mines, but then became unused after the mines closed. And then a huge flood happened, filling the rail system with water. Only reason the station hasn't entirely closed down is cause the mural holds historical significance or something. There was also a pierogi and pretzel stand in the station, which I found kinda odd. The miners could grab a quick snack before hopping on the trolley, I suppose, but why was it still open now? Casey simply explained as just, "Possum Springs can be weird like that."

The two of us messed around for a while, and before I realized it, it was the late afternoon. I mentioned that we should get back to Casey's place before it got too late. And that's where I am now. Casey's parents seemed... hesitant about letting me stay the night, but after some convincing, they let me in. It was a nice little one-floor house with two bedrooms, nothing shabby. I'll have to find a way to pay them back, but after that, I need to find out if there's a way I can get back home. If there's a way back, I mean. I offered to just sleep on the couch for the night, where I'm not recalling and writing all this. Maybe when I go to sleep and wake up again, I'll be home? Who knows.


	2. 6/25/2015

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "*-" before a paragraph signifies another entry within the same day.

### June 25, 2015

After a nice night of playing some retro games with Casey and a warm shower, I settled onto the couch and fell asleep... Aaaand I woke back up in that same house, still being a wolf. So, I am kind of stuck here. Great. Regardless, I woke up at around 7, but it took me until 8 to actually gather the strength to get up (I've never been a morning person). Casey's parents were getting ready to leave out for work, and the man himself was freshening up for the day. Casey didn't have a job, but he told me he was planning to change that here soon. After the parents left, we prepared a light breakfast of hearty cereal, nothing too fruity or chocolatey. It wasn't entirely eggs and bacon, but it was better than what my roommates tend to get back home.

I found that I was able to start being... Myself around him now. Yesterday I was sort of a fumbling, quiet mess cause I was just so confused, but that started to subside. I still couldn't tell him about how I got here, in fear that I'd confuse the guy, but we discussed certain things, like if there was any way to jog my memory. Casey told me about a certain Dr. Hank, but he also commented that his psychiatry works aren't necessarily the best in the world. I meekly told him that I'd check it out, though. I don't need psychiatric help, though, I need like... Magic or some shit. After we were done with our breakfast, we decided to head back into Town Centre to see if anything interesting's going on. I'm now stood outside waiting for Casey to get ready.

*-  
So, I got to meet that Angus guy that Gregg mentioned yesterday. He's a big bear, seems sorta nerdy but I think we'd get along either way. Casey took me to where he works, a video rental store of all places. Angus commented that we were the first of what would probably be ten people he'd see all day. Seeing as it wasn't busy at all, we ended up talking about some stuff. Casey brought up someone called Bea, asking how she was doing. Angus told us that she ended up finally taking up a position at her dad's store, the Ol' Pickaxe. A store for supplies and tools, kinda like a Home Depot but smaller. Though, the Ol' Pickaxe wasn't as slow as the video rental store, so going in for a casual chat with this Bea wasn't in the works for now. After some time, though, we made our way back out, looking for Gregg.

It turned out that Gregg was in apartment he shared with his bear boyfriend. When Casey and I got up to him, he admitted he had nothing much to do and was quite bored. And so Casey admitted that a few days ago, he found a long abandoned car near the town limits, off the side of the road. Gregg seemed like a kid in a candy store at that, and he suggested that we, and I quote, "Smash that shit up." Alright, something kind of illegal, but it'd be fun as long as we weren't caught.

And we did indeed smash that shit up. Windows, doors, hood, anything we could get our crowbar, wooden bat and iron pipe on. What was once an old blue station wagon is now just a mess of car parts. It was oddly both riveting and refreshing, like I was letting something in me release. Casey was probably the least violent between us, which kinda makes sense. He seems super chill in comparison to me and definitely Gregg. After we were done, having to catch our breath, we just sort of stopped and stared at our work. There was a strange beauty to it... Gregg mentioned that it was like we helped the body of a car decompose. I objected a bit, saying that decomposers literally eat dead things. Still though, this was unlike anything I'd done before. I felt more alive than I had in a long while. No longer was I cooped up in a depressing apartment and going to this monotonous grocery store job. As I contemplate more about it, my desire to go back home leaves me more and more. But, still... I wanna check in with mom, with Kevin and Mike back home. Damnit, this is a dilemma.

*-  
The three of us had lunch at the Clik Clak. Nothing like a nice cheeseburger to regain strength after taking my frustration out on a completely defenseless vehicle. We just kinda talked about various things again. I started to notice that none of the places around here were familiar to me. Possum Springs, Briddle, Fort Lucenne, Bright Harbor... None of these locations ring a bell at all. We did mention a place in this town called Food Donkey, which is so similar to Food Lion (where i work back home) that it just feels uncanny.

Not a whole lot of interest happened for the next few hours. I left Casey and Gregg to their own devices, and I just kinda hung out around town, trying not to seem like I was loitering (even though that was what I was kinda doing). Though, as the sun eventually set, I noticed something odd in the corner of my eye as I wandered about. It was this weird, tall black figure, but it disappeared as I tried to focus on it. It was probably my imagination? I made my way back to Casey's, as I'd started to have a mental map of this small town, and I didn't even bring up what I saw. Guess I didn't wanna concern the Hartleys. Either way, I'm just gonna be here for the evening.


	3. 6/26/2015

### June 26, 2015

Update: Still here. Guess being transported to a parallel world and being changed is a one and done deal. It's a Saturday, so Casey's mom is off work this morning. She took the opportunity to cook up a nice breakfast of sausages and eggs. I have to hand it to her, it wasn't half bad, and I gave my compliments to the chef. We talked around the table, mostly about Casey getting employed. It was in the works for sure, but Mrs. Hartley insisted he focus on it a bit more. God, I've been in his exact position before. Nowadays, getting literally any job can be a chore, and it feels like random chance that anyone calls you back. I'll be rooting for you, Casey.

After breakfast, we headed out for another Possum Springs adventure. I wasn't 100% sure on where I was wanting to go, but I suggested exploring a bit outside of Towne Centre. Casey suggested that we could go up to the church, to which I responded that I didn't peg him as a religious man. Apparently he just wanted to go up to meet someone, and have me meet her as well. I could get behind that, sure. We took a route through town and up to the church on a hill, going right in. It wasn't entirely crowded, seeing as it wasn't a Sunday morning or anything. We got to a desk at the end of a hall, seeing an older dark blue cat lady who seemed pleasantly surprised to see us (or maybe to see Casey, she didn't know me). It turned out that she's the mother of a Mae Borowski, a friend of Casey's. Mae herself was off to college, it seemed. I hope the best for her. But regardless, Mrs. Borowski was a tad busy with church administration work or whatever, so we let her be. We left, going further up the hill until we broke through a tree line and got to a rocky cliff. We sat on the stone floor beneath us, taking in the view of the valley and the distant water tower. It was strangely picturesque, like a painting that you know is based on a real place but it just has that... Quality to it. We soaked in the morning sun for a moment before Casey said something kind of out of the blue.

"I'm gonna hop a train out of here one day."

I was kinda caught off-guard. I looked over to him as he explained that, while Possum Springs was a quaint, peaceful town, he just felt like it was not where he should be. The town itself was facing some hardships economically. Each day in the news, there's always something about another batch of workers being laid off. And it didn't seem like the local government was doing a whole lot about it. Yikes. I argued that if he was gonna up and move, he should take his friends with him. But he insisted that it would be a solo venture. The others could join if they wanted to, but he wouldn't force anything. Whatever the case may be, Casey, I'll be rooting for you.

*-  
My legs hurt. I was never really active in my life, so to have this guy (who is a cat, all nimble and stuff) guide me through various neighborhoods for hours would become exhausting after a while. "Guess this small town can kick my ass even more than it's kicking its own," I had joked as we chilled out on a bench beside Centre Ave. Casey's laughter after that sounded genuine, but it was such a terrible joke that there's no way he was actually laughing at it. As we continued sitting and I massaged my legs, Germ rolled up on a bicycle, stopping in front of us. I'm not gonna lie, there's something about Germ that just feels... Off. I honestly cannot place my finger on it. Ah well, he was an overall cool dude, and he seemed interested in the fact that me, Casey and Gregg beat the shit out of a car yesterday. The bird dude brought up that he prefers bikes over cars since bikes are better for the environment. Was he, like... proud that we dismantled the car? Why did he bring that up?? After a bit more talking, Germ excused himself, hopping back on his bike and taking off. Now I'm just more intrigued to know more about him.

*-

Casey would make his way home so he could help out his mom if he could, but I stay out there for a bit longer. With my legs still slightly sore, I made my way back out to the distant neighborhood, where I saw that strange hooded figure yesterday. I waited, and waited, pacing around a bit. Nothing. Not so much as an unusual sound. After a bit, I decided 'Screw it', and headed back towards Casey's. There was still plenty of sunlight, so maybe now wasn't the time to search for weird black-clothed figures. I dunno why my mind is so fixated on this, but...


	4. 6/27/2015

### June 27, 2015

So I almost died today.

I like Casey, he's pretty nice and all, but he ended up overestimating my acrobatics and balance. After we ate breakfast and all, he offered a place for us to hang out for the morning. Said it was a surprise and all, and let's just say I was surprised when he suggested for me to climb up to the powerlines next to Centre Ave. I did test my luck, getting up on the powerline and following him up through some lines and rooftops. As we finally got to our destination, the roof of a relatively small office building, Casey seemed quite calm while I was shaking in my shoes. He apologized, realizing that it "might" be a bit scary the first time. It was whatever, I was still alive, so no harm done. It was a nice view from the rooftop, the morning sunlight castling long shadows on the buildings and cars and pedestrians down below. It was definitely comforting after that stunt we pulled. But I had to ask, what were we doing here?

Just hanging out, apparently. He liked being up here, said it gave him a certain comfort. "Maybe it's like, you feel like you're above this town's problems or something. We are basically above the town itself now." I tried getting philosophical, but it just ended in us both shrugging. Apparently I kinda remind Casey of Mae, which I couldn't really either agree or disagree with, seeing as I hadn't met her. If she's anything like me, though, we'd likely get along though. I wondered if there was any way we could get in touch, to which Casey said there was an app called Chattrbox, but Mae hasn't been on it in a while, so that may be out of the question.

Casey happened to peak down the edge of the roof, toward the street, and caught a glimpse of someone down there. He called out to "Bea", catching the attention of a blue crocodile lady all the way down there. Seems like we caught her off work, luckily. We made our way back down the street and met up with Bea, introducing ourselves. Her full name is Beatrice Santello, and she has quite a gothic aesthetic. Black shirt with a violet undershirt (a bit hot for layered clothing, maybe she's actually cold-blooded like a reptile?), and an ankh necklace. She didn't seem much for starting a conversation, so I simply asked her what was up. She explained that she was admittedly a bit stressed since she had to take up her father's job after her mother unfortunately passed away. I'm not the best at cheering someone up after they lose someone, and I know that cliché euphemisms can sorta fall flat on some people, so I wished her the best of luck on the job. She gave a 'Thanks', but it seemed kinda dismissive. It also turned out that we were kinda holding her up, since she had to grab some groceries from the Food Donkey for her and her dad, so we let her on her way. Geez, I kinda feel bad for her, though. Actually scratch that, I feel real bad. I wondered if there was any way I could, I dunno, get her feeling any better? Casey admitted that he feels the same, but Bea and him aren't exactly close, so he couldn't give an answer.

*-  
The rest of the day wasn't really all that eventful. Casey and I resorted to hanging out with Gregg in his apartment, playing some games together while Angus was out for work. Germ was there, too, so it was a 4-player session. As noon approached, we ordered some pizza together. Germ offered to pick our order up from the Pastabilities down the road when it was done, and after he left to do that, it was just Gregg, Casey and I. The question of my 'amnesia' came up again, and all I could say is that it's the same as when I woke up in that ravine. God, that was only two days ago? I feel like I've got on a month's worth of adventure so far... I was such a shut-in as a human. If I get back, I should really start exploring more on my free time. Anyways, Germ got back with our Pastabilities pizza. It wasn't bad at all, but nothing world-class (which I had no problem with, I'm not a fancy man/wolf) and it seemed like me commenting on that inspired Gregg to bring up the "Pizza Scale". Basically, at the very bottom you have really crappy pizza. Like, so crappy that you're just like 'Yeah, no', and put down. And at the very top you have pizza so fancy it becomes overwhelming. But everything in between is still really good. The concept of the Pizza Scale was so new to me, and yet it made so much sense.

Either way, I ended up leaving the hangout to get some alone time. Alone time is good sometimes, and I went down to that abandoned trolley tunnel under the Centre. It was empty, aside from the Trolleyside News stand and the dog guy inside with his pretzels and pierogis. At least, I thought I was mostly alone in there, when suddenly I hear a footstep beside me. I turned and saw a rather old, tall bird who somehow had a beard growing under his beak?? Regardless, he kinda scared the crap out of me, but he apologized for the startle. I swear, he just kinda appeared there, as no one followed me into the station. The janitor (or, mechanic I guess) explained that he was simply down there to fix a light within that news stand. Pretty standard stuff, I guess. I was still vaguely creeped out, though, so I headed back up and now I'm on my way back to Casey's. Alone time will just have to happen on the sidewalks.

*-  
Man, I'm not liking the fact that I'm another mouth for the Hartleys to feed. If I'm here long enough, I can figure something out, but I basically have nothing to my name here. I'm glad that they're helping me out now, but still...

Ah well, another night on the couch. Better than a ravine with a opossum, at least.


	5. 6/28/2015

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started this fic, I forgot that the game takes place in 2017, not 2020. Whoops. So I had to change all of the chapter titles from 2018 to 2015 since this is a prequel dating back two years.

### June 28, 2015

Casey's gone.

Not like, gone as in dead (I hope!!), but... The last time I saw him was yesterday when I left Gregg's place, but when I went over there this morning, Gregg told me he headed out in the evening, towards the tracks. Ever since then... No trace. Not a message to anyone's Chattrbox app, nothing. His parents are for whatever reason getting on my ass about it. It got to the point where I took my leave, taking what little possessions I had with me. Now I'm with Gregg again in his apartment, and I feel like a damn mess. Me and the lil dude talked, just to get my mind off of the whole situation. Casey never just _disappears_ like this, he told me. The idea of him taking a train out of here westbound came up and, honestly, I'm hoping that's what happened. I'm hoping he isn't lost out there in those woods or anything. I sent him a message asking about the situation, here's hoping he gets back to me.

Time went on, and I tried to pass the time by playing games with Gregg, and talking to Angus after he got back from work. Though, I was so quiet cause of what I was feeling that the conversation with Angus was just half awkward silence. Today's lunch was just a few grilled cheese, but I just didn't have much of an appetite. It's not that I'm really depressed over him disappearing, but maybe I'm... Scared? Like, there's a possibility he got kidnapped, or he's lost in the forest. If he doesn't respond to my message by 6 PM, I'm going down to those tracks and looking for him in the woods.

*-  
5:34 PM. Nothing from Casey. I excused myself from the apartment and made my way outside. In my haste, I kinda stopped paying attention and accidentally bumped straight into this tall greenish-blue bear dude. Kind of an unnatural fur color, but I guess I'll roll with it. We both apologized, but then we ended up having a little conversation. In the big city, when you bump into someone you just apologize and go on your merry way, hoping the other dude doesn't get pissed off. Guess things are different in this tiny town. The bear was called Alexander Chazokov. A Russian dude, neat. He teaches a high school astronomy class, and when he asked what I did, I kinda had to tell him that I was jobless at the moment. He seemed supportive, assuring me that if I tried enough, I could get something. I decided not to tell him that I had no work experience here, since this is... what, my fifth day in this world? That'd just be awkward. Anyways, we parted after a bit, and now I start my trek down to those tracks.

*-  
Update: No sign of him. But, I've found... an entrance to some sort of mine? Or just a cave, who knows. It must be abandoned, but something felt... Off. After standing with the cave in view for a bit, I decided screw this and made my way back towards town through the forest. Nothing good comes from the caves. Nothing good comes from caves in the middle of the woods. Relying on the sunset's light, I got back to the outskirts of town, through a neighborhood near the tracks.

Casey, for the love of all that is good, give me a sign that you're alright.

*-  
Saw Bea again in Towne Centre as I was getting back. I asked if she knew anything on the whereabouts of Casey, just on the off-chance she may have a clue. Nothing, she didn't even know he was gone, as he's usually all over the place and kinda hard to track down. I thanked her anyways. Getting back to the apartment, I brought up that Germ may know? But he doesn't even have Chattrbox, and he's likely been home all day.

An idea hatched into my mind. I'm gonna leave this journal at the front porch of the Hartley residence, sneak it under the rug, where he once told me that only he looks. He'll find it if he comes back, and might even track me down to return it. This does unfortunately mean that I won't be able to write in it, so this shall be the last entry for a while. I may buy another blank book after some time, but... Yeah.

Goodbye.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapters in this aren't going to be very long, as I don't intend to put a load of detail into scenes (this is just a journal after all), unless it's something super important.
> 
> Updates for this fic may be slow, as I am currently working on another NiTW fanfic under wraps, called Stranger Winter. Still on the fritz about publicizing that one, as it is quite... something.


End file.
